A systems approach to evaluate discrete event simulation softwares

Simulation has been effectively used to redesign an existing (or design a new) enterprise. There are numerous simulation software packages that are available in the market. However, each of these softwares has their own advantages and disadvantages. Hence, it becomes extremely difficult to select a simulation package to suit the needs of the domain being modeled. There are limited studies that focus on benchmarking and evaluating simulation softwares. Most relevant attempts focus on developing a preferred list of simulation softwares for their application and provide limited insight into the factors that affect their selection. We propose a generic framework and factors that could be used to evaluate simulation softwares.